Ooyala, a US-based provider of online video services, has raised more than $22m in its initial closing of its series D round from two Asian venture investors.
CID Group, a China-based venture capital (VC) firm with strong links to local strategic investors, and Itochu Technology Ventures, the corporate venturing division for Japan-based conglomerate Itochu, led the round, which is expected to have a second closing within the next 60 days over being oversubscribed.Itochu invested $2m, according to news providers.
Ooyala’s existing US-based VCs, Sierra Ventures and Rembrandt Venture Partners also participated in the round.
Jay Fulcher, executive president of Ooyala, who joined in August last year after selling Agile Software to server software company Oracle, said: "The entire Asia and Pacific region is experiencing tremendous growth in online video viewership. These strategic investors will help position Ooyala as the leader in this large and thriving market."
David Yang, partner of CID, said: "Ooyala has truly differentiated itself by staying focused on helping publishers derive value from their video implementations. The transition from offline to online video is a consumer trend that will greatly benefit Ooyala and the other companies that are part of the video value chain."
Toyokazu Terada, managing director at Itochu Technology Ventures, said: "Ooyala has made a great first impression here in Japan this year. This market is very receptive to Ooyala’s innovative approach to publishing, managing, and monetizing online video."
In October, Ooyala closed a $10m series C round to double its venture funding since launch in 2007.